


we could stay young forever

by dessertmeltdown



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-05-05
Packaged: 2018-01-22 00:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1568999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dessertmeltdown/pseuds/dessertmeltdown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam and Louis get married.  Things are a little complicated, but it's okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we could stay young forever

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elliebird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elliebird/gifts).



> Written for Remix Redux 11.
> 
> Thanks to the people who helped me write this, both in read throughs and beta/britpicking. You know who you are. :)
> 
> Title is from "Alone Together" by Fall Out Boy

The day Liam meets Louis he thinks _how am I going to be in a band with this person?_ Louis is loud and mischievous and the opposite of everything Liam is and everything Liam stands for. Most of the time Liam wants to smack him around the head more than anything. After a few weeks, he's convinced this is never going to work; he and Louis are going to kill each other before the show even starts, and his one chance to make it will go away as quickly as it came.

But he and Louis don't kill each other. They learn to get along, become mates, and one day when Liam isn't looking Louis becomes someone he never wants to let go. 

One day they're standing on a beach in Sydney just after their first surfing trip together, and Liam thinks _is it normal to want to kiss your best mate?_

“Oi Liam, you're staring mate? Are you alright?” A lob of sand hits Liam in the face and he laughs even though it stings his eyes.

“I'm alright. We should head back.” 

Louis nods and falls in step and Liam spends the rest of the afternoon trying not to stare at him too much in fear of getting caught. Having feelings for your best mate is one thing, admitting it out loud is completely different.

*

Liam tells Louis he's in love with him one night when they come off stage somewhere in America. He's buzzing and the others are still changing, and he and Louis are sitting in a darkened van while teenage girls scream around him. He's not sure why that seems like the best place, but it just slips out, and he instantly regrets it, fear bubbling up in him that he's about to lose one of his best mates in the entire world.

Louis looks at him and smiles and pushes down his hair on his head. Liam can feel the rejection coming, even through Louis' soft smile. Nothing Louis does is soft, and that's how Liam knows what's coming before it gets there. “You're just projecting because you miss Dani.” Louis pokes his cheek. “You're not in love with me, and I think it'd be selfish of me to play into it.” He hugs around Liam, and Liam wants to scream. It's not about Dani. It's not about anyone. “If you feel the same way in a year, then we'll talk.” He laughs like he knows that's not remotely a possibility, but Liam's already thinking about what he's going to do a year from now to make Louis understand.

*

Standing on a beach in Bournemouth a year later, Liam kisses Louis. Louis doesn't fight it, doesn't argue or tell Liam he doesn't know what he's feeling. It's not like Liam hasn't tried to get him to listen over the past year, but Louis just kept on pushing, telling Liam he's not a rebound kind of guy, even six months after the break up with Danielle.

“You know what today is?” Liam grins, holding his arms around Louis' biceps and squeezing. “It's been a year today since you told me to talk to you again in year.”

“You're such a sap, Payno.” Louis laughs and pulls out of his grip, just so he can smack Liam playfully in the head. “You're lucky I like that in a bloke.”

“Yeah,” Liam thinks. “Yeah, I'm pretty lucky.” And then Liam does it, kisses Louis, and it's everything he thought it would be. It's soft and it's sweet and it's perfect. 

Liam still has no idea what to expect.

*

When Liam asks Louis to marry him, there's no doubt in his mind that they're going to get married in that spot. They argue about everything else: who to invite, whether or not to allow a camera person, what foods to offer at the reception, if they're even going to have a reception.

They don't argue about the venue because there's nowhere else they'd rather promise to love each other forever than on that beach.

The one thing that constantly comes up is whether or not they're going to come out as a couple before the wedding. They've got lawyers and publicists coming at them constantly telling them how detrimental that could be to the band at the peak of their career. They've never cared about hiding it before, not caring that what they have is something they don't share with the world – both of them have failed relationships just because of the press and the fans, and they don't want that to be what breaks them.

On the other hand, what's the point of being married if you can't be married?

They come to the decision together, like they do everything these days. Liam and Louis arrange for a couple of pictures to be taken at the wedding and for them to be quietly released once they're on their honeymoon. They've been told it might be a mistake to do this without some sort of grand coming out as boyfriends happening first, but they still want a little bit of time in their bubble before everything crashes down around them. They talk to the guys to make sure it's okay; it's not really about Harry, Zayn or Niall, but it has the potential to affect their career as much as it will affect Liam and Louis', so it would be selfish not to at least consider them.

The others are ecstatic for them; they don't for a second try to make Liam and Louis feel like this isn't completely their choice and for that (among other things) Liam loves them.

So Liam and Louis get married. It's a quiet little ceremony with close friends and family, and they both look happy and relaxed. They take a couple of pictures and they pick one where they're looking at each other like no one else exists to release to the press. There's going to be fall out, no doubt, but they think if people can see the way they look at each other maybe they can minimize it.

They're on a plane before they know it, and Liam isn't thinking about the picture or the press or their fans. He's just thinking about Louis and getting him alone and enjoying their first couple of weeks as husbands without any of the bullshit.

*

The house is gorgeous. It's remote, and it's big, overlooking water on every side. They basically have their own little island away from the world. Liam doesn't think too much about what leaving that island is going to mean when he pushes Louis against the wall and kisses him the second they walk inside. He doesn't think about that when he presses Louis into the mattress later and fucks him. He doesn't think about anything as long as he can be touching Louis. Louis, his husband, his best friend.

He enjoys the chance to be in their own little world for a while, to pretend that they're not going home to a circus in a couple of weeks. 

*

Their last day on their own private island isn't tense, but the air gets a little thicker, the room a little smaller. It starts to hit Liam just what they're going to go back to. They turned off their phones that first day, after getting confirmation that the photos were online, so they don't know what kind of reaction they've gotten.

“Hey,” Louis says, sliding into his lap. “You're starting to think too much already. I can feel it.” Louis pokes his neck and kisses the corner of his mouth. “We've got one more day; lets not waste it.”

Liam rests his hands on Louis' hips and leans into him, pressing their mouths together and kissing him a little breathless. He knows Louis is right; they made their decision and they were going to have to eventually deal with it. He just wants another week on this island where all he has to worry about is how long it's going to be before he can get it up again or who's going to get up to make dinner. Or another month or another year. 

“What if - “

Louis cuts him off with a kiss. “What if nothing, Liam. Whatever it is, whatever the reaction from the media or the fans, we'll deal with it. We've gotten pretty good at dealing with whatever comes at us. If you can handle me being a knob, you can handle a few articles about how we're going to hell.”

“What if sales have dropped? What if people are demanding refunds for the tour? What - “

“Shut up, love. You're worrying too much.” Louis smooths a hand over Liam's chest. “Let's enjoy our last day away from all of that.”

“You're right. Of course you're right.”

Louis sighs, a wistful smile on his face. “I love those words more than I love you. Say that again.”

“You're right, Louis. You're always right. You're the king of right.”

“Ah, this is why I married you. I can always count on you, mate.” He grins a little until Liam pushes forward and tackles him to the sofa, kissing breathless and tweaking his nipple. “Oh right, there are other reasons I married you. Now I remember.” 

“Shut up.” 

“Hey! No f--” He doesn't get to finish his sentence because Liam is kissing him again, pushing his hips into the sofa and working on ignoring the outside world. Louis makes it surprisingly easy.

*

The plane ride is tense, and Liam can feel it coming from Louis too. They don't know what they'll be stepping off to in London. As soon as he gets off the plane, Liam turns on his phone. There aren't any missed calls or texts but that's only because everyone knew he'd be unreachable, but the minute they step outside there are massive crowds. People must have seen them boarding in Athens and known they'd be landing soon. 

There are more photographers than he's ever seen and fans everywhere, screaming and holding up signs in support. He and Louis both try to stop and sign a couple of things but with all the photographers the push is too much and Liam is afraid of people getting crushed. When they get in the car neither of them says anything. Liam is the first one to slide his hand over and rest it on Louis' knee. He gets a smile in return, but it's tense. Louis looks back to his phone where he's opened Twitter.

Liam wants to ask while at the same time not wanting to know. Louis must catch his expression because he smiles tightly and says, “nothing to worry about, love, just the usual.” The usual could mean all sorts of things, but Liam's assuming this time it's not the pleasant kind of normal.

Liam doesn't want to push Louis about the issue, but when he finally looks for himself later that night it's not as bad as he expects. As expected there are quite a few articles about sinning and hell and how they're automatically bad role models all of the sudden. There's a lot of support too, from fans who relate to them better now and even from the media. The reaction certainly could be better, but it could also have been worse.

Later when they're in bed, Liam rolls over and rests his head on Louis' chest, glancing up at him. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Louis smiles and pushes at Liam's hair. His fringe is starting to grow out again. He needs to get a cut.

“You're thinking too much. Let's go back to Greece.”

“I wish.” Louis laughs and tugs lightly at his hair. “I thought it would change when we got home. Like, I thought seeing the reaction might make this different? But it's not really, is it?”

“Maybe a little, maybe it will be when we go back out on the road. The press will probably ask us about it.” Liam slides his hand under Louis' shirt, just to feel the heat of his skin. “Doesn't change us though.” He grins. “Come on, lets go back to Greece.”

“Stop being a dick.”

“I mean it.” Liam moves in to kiss him, pushing at his shirt. “Let's go back to that island. We can do that, you know. Just pretend for a while that we're there and that the outside world doesn't exist. This bedroom can be like our island.” He kisses Louis on the neck and then slowly along his jaw. “Every night, no matter what happens.” Liam thinks it must be Louis' influence that's making him worry less about what other people think. “We have each other, yeah?”

“When did you get so carefree? Isn't that my job?” 

“Guess around the time you started worrying so much.” He grins. “Come on. Let's go back to Greece.”

“Okay,” Louis kisses his nose. “We're back in Greece.”

Liam knows it's not really that easy. They're going to tour and deal with press, and there are always going to be people who don't approve, but he's starting to learn that that doesn't matter as much as long as he's got Louis by his side.


End file.
